As it is well known, a wide range of recipients are used within the ready-to-eat food sector for packaging purposes such as, aluminium cans for drinks, multi layer/stackable boxes or containers or bottle or cup-style recipients, which are generally made from various types of plastic and all of which incorporate varying closure elements.
Amongst this range of containers are those recipients whose cap is formed by a laminated surface. Such containers are popular given their appropriate resistance and protection capacity, which facilitates and eases the closure process in addition to being low-cost.
This type of closure, which employs a laminated surface, is designed specifically to be easy to use and open on the part of the consumer. However, it is apparent that a good design cannot prevent the inconveniences that occur when the final user opens the container.
To this regard, the most common inconveniences that occur upon opening the film incorrectly are; the increase in the probability of product spillage and the generation of sharp fragments of the laminate on the mouth-support area, resulting in accidents such as cuts to the mouth or fingers of the user, among others.
Taking into account these possible inconveniences, it is well known that many consumers have the habit of opening the laminated surface partially to consume this type of products by forming an exit hole for the content and thereby preventing the foregoing incidents. However, the size and quality of such exit hole depends on the user's skills and the force applied upon opening the cap. Furthermore, by only partially opening the laminated surface, the content residue on the underneath of said laminated surface is exposed and the consumer may smear the product on their nose when bringing the container up to their mouth.
In addition to the foregoing, it must be taken into account that before reaching the final consumer, these various containers are handled throughout various stages of which the following can be highlighted: packaging, receiving and display of such products in storage points. All such handling stages mean that the body and edges of the containers, including the laminated surface, are inevitably contaminated.
Contaminating agents present on the container could inevitably be transferred to the consumer upon contact between the consumer's mouth and the upper edge of the container.
To this regard, the packaging industry has developed a series of elements, with the main purpose of protecting the areas on these containers that necessarily come into direct contact with the consumer upon consumption of the product packaged therein.
Taking the aforementioned into consideration, it must be pointed out that, in the case of recipients such as the aluminium can, flexible hood-type caps have been developed to protect the edges of such containers and additionally provide a support area for the mouth of the consumer.
What's more, in the case of the said aluminium cans, the patent document ES1068714 discloses a mechanism that facilitates consumption of content and prevents contact between the mouth of the consumer and the areas of the container exposed to contamination.
Likewise, in the case of cup-type containers that are sealed with laminated seals, concave hard overcaps have been designed to prevent contamination, as in the case of the aluminium cans. That is to say, that such overcaps are coupled with the container before the container is dispatched from its place of manufacture. In this way, it is only separated from the container when its content is going to be consumed.
However, the use of hard caps increases product-packaging costs, and on the other hand, this type of cap only ensures protection if it is coupled with the container in the place of manufacture, that is to say, before the container is subject to any contamination.
On the other hand, even though such caps provide protection in both a mechanical and hygienic manner, it is clear that they unfortunately do not comprise any benefits that prevent the above-mentioned inconveniences upon opening the container, such as spills, splashes and accidents due to sharp fragments left on the rim of the container.
In light of the foregoing, the necessity in the state of the art to develop a device which allows for containers whose cap is formed by a laminated surface to be effectively opened, thereby reducing inconveniences such as splashes and spills and furthermore preventing direct contact between the mouth of the consumer and a likely contaminated surface, in such a way that the content may exit the container in a direct and hygienic manner, is more than apparent.